ABDUL GANI MIR Vs. STATE OF JK

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The entire gamut of the controversy raised here in this petition revolves round the plea whether the Government order bearing No. 1282-GAD of 2016 dated 21st of November, 2016, issued by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir, in exercise of powers conferred by Article 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, whereby notice was given to the petitioner, namely, Shri Abdul Gani Mir, Mineral Supervisor, I/C District Mineral Officer, Bandipora, Industries & Commerce Department, to the effect that he having already attained 58 years of age, shall retire from service w.e.f. the forenoon of the 22nd day of November, 2016, can withstand the test of judicial scrutiny.

(2.) The pith and core of the petition of the petitioner is that during the entire tenure of his service, he worked with great deal of honesty and dedication at different places of posting and, at the relevant point of time, i.e. the day when the order aforesaid was issued, he was holding the post of Mineral Supervisor, I/C District Mineral Officer, Bandipora, Industries & Commerce Department. His past Service carrier is unblemished and, all along, he has been given various promotions on the basis of his suitability, merit and excellent service record. It has also been pointed out that the petitioner abided by the rules and regulations governing the conduct of a Government employee and has consistently earned excellent/ good satisfactory remarks in his APRs. It has been further stated that, in the year 2012, a false complaint of corruption was lodged by a lessee against the petitioner with the Vigilance Organization, Kashmir, when the petitioner refused to authenticate the challans for the quantity more than the extracted one in favour of the said lessee, leading to the registration of the FIR bearing No. 19/2012 by the Police Station, Vigilance Organization, Kashmir, for the commission of offences punishable under Section 5(1) (d) read with Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Svt. 2006 and Section 161 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC). The charge sheet in the said case, as stated, has been laid before the Court of the learned Special Judge, Anti Corruption, Kashmir, Srinagar and the case is under trial. The petitioner, on his arrest in relation to the aforesaid case, was suspended from Government service vide order bearing No. PFD/C-Adm/DGM/2167-99 dated 29th of August, 2012. This order of suspension was challenged by the petitioner before this Court through the medium of SWP No. 2421/2012, which was disposed of in terms of the order dated 17th of November, 2012, with the direction to the respondents to review the order of suspension of the petitioner. Subsequently, vide order bearing No. IND/MNG/Legal/141/2012 dated 16th of June, 2014, the petitioner was reinstated into service. Thereafter, the Respondent Department, instead of nailing down the need to bring the investigation of the aforesaid case (i.e. the FIR No.19/2012, Police Station VOK) registered against the petitioner to the logical conclusion, issued the order impugned in the writ petition, whereby the retirement of the petitioner was ordered under Article 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulations.

(3.) The Respondents have resisted and controverted the petition of the petitioner, on the grounds, inter alia, that the Government has to perform a multitude of tasks in order to implement various welfare measures of public interest, and the paramount aim is of providing clean and effective administration to the people of the State. In order to make the administration effective, a periodic review of all the Officers is taken up by the Government, the aim and object being to encourage honest and efficient Government servants and, simultaneously, to weed out the inefficient and corrupt Officers from the services in the public interest. Whileas, various incentives and awards are given to the honest and efficient Officers/Officials, recourse is taken to the provisions of Article 226 (2) and (3) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulations, 1956, for the removal of such Government officials from the State services, who have become deadwood on account of their indulging in inefficient and corrupt practices. The order of compulsory retirement passed in the case of the petitioner is based on the object of weeding out the deadwood from the State services. Article 226 (2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulations is designed to infuse the administration with initiative for better administration and for augmenting the general efficiency so as to meet the expanding horizons and cater to the new challenges faced by the State to provide sensitivity, probity, non-irritative public relation and enthusiastic creativity, which can be achieved by eliminating the deadwood. In order to consider the case of the petitioner for compulsory retirement, under and in terms of the Government order bearing No. 17-GAD (Vig.) 2015 dated 20th of May, 2015, sanction was accorded to the constitution of a Committee to consider the cases of the Officers/ officials for compulsory retirement. The record regarding the involvement of the petitioner in corrupt practices was placed before the Committee. The cases, in which FIRs have been lodged and are under probe, were placed before the Committee, including the case of the petitioner bearing FIR No. 12/2012 registered by the Vigilance Organization, Kashmir. The Committee, on consideration of the available records, observed that the petitioner does not enjoy good reputation in the public due to his inconsistent conduct over a period of time and that the 'Annual Performance Reports' (APRs) were either not available or incomplete. The Committee also observed that the petitioner was caught red handed in the year 2012, demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 5,000/- from a complainant for attesting/ authenticating the transportation challans for lifting of Minerals from a leased area during his posting as I/C, DMO, Baramulla. Accordingly, it has been stated, that FIR bearing No. 19/2012 was registered in Police Station, VOK, for the commission of offences punishable under Section 5(1) (d) read with Section 5(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act, Samvat 2006 and Section 161 of the RPC. The investigation of the case was concluded as proved and, the competent Authority, after considering the available records and applying its mind to the facts and circumstances of the case, accorded sanction for the prosecution of the petitioner vide Government order bearing No. 28-GAD (Vig.) of 2013 dated 23rd of April, 2013. The Committee, therefore, recommended for the compulsory retirement of the petitioner in public interest under Article 226(2) of the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services Regulations. The recommendations so made were accepted by the Competent Authority, as a consequence of which, the impugned order was issued. It has been, accordingly, pleaded by the Respondent-State that the impugned order is a legal one. It is in accordance with law. The writ petition, as such, is legally misconceived, untenable, without any merit, and, in sequel thereto, merits dismissal.